'on the heels of 90 people who have
tried to kill themselves in the last eight months'

Since September 101 people in town of 2,000 have tried to kill themselves

Eldest was 71, youngest was 11, and only girl to die so far was aged 13

Four health workers with no mental health training were left unable to cope

Continue reading after cut ....

A
remote indigenous town in Canada has declared a state of emergency amid
a suicide epidemic that saw 11 young people try and take their lives in
a single night.

Council
leaders in Attawapiskat First Nation, a town of just 2,000 people on
remote James Bay, say they have been 'overwhelmed' with the number of
suicide attempts in recent months.

Since
September last year 101 people aged from 11 to 71 have attempted
suicide with only four health workers, none of whom have mental health
training, left to deal with the fall-out.

Chief
Bruce Shisheesh and his council voted unanimously on Saturday night to
declare an emergency meaning resources can be brought in from elsewhere
to help, CBC reports.

The
latest spate of suicides, which has plagued the community for decades,
began last September when five young girls overdosed on medication and
had to be airlifted to hospital.

The
following month Sheridan, the 13-year-old great niece of Jackie
Hookimaw, a resident of the community, took her only life, the sole
fatality of the crisis so far.

Shisheesh said that overcrowding, with
14 or 15 people living to a house (pictured) was one cause of the
suicides, along with drug abuse, and physical and sexual abuse

Hookimaw,
speaking to the National Post, said Sheridan had been plagued with
multiple health conditions and was being teased at school before killing
herself.

Sheridan's
death sparked a string of other suicide attempts, which local
MP Charlie Angus puts down to a lack of services to support young people
after tragic event.

He
said: 'When a young person tries to commit suicide in any suburban
school, they send in the resources, they send in the emergency team.
There’s a standard protocol for response.

'The northern communities are left on their own. We don’t have the mental health service dollars. We don’t have the resources.'

Four health workers in Attawapiskat,
who have no mental health training, have been overwhelmed by 101 suicide
attempts in eight months, with almost one attempt per day in March

Shisheesh
said overcrowding, with 14 to 15 people living in a single home, along
with physical and sexual abuse, and drug use are all leading causes of
suicide in the community.

Justin
Trudeau, Canada's new Prime Minister, has made improving the lives of
aboriginal people a cornerstone of his administration.

In
his first budget since assuming office, presented last month, Finance
Minister Bill Morneau promised billions more in spending to address
issues such as education, child services and quality of water in remote
communities.

On
Twitter, Trudeau said: 'The news from Attawapiskat is heartbreaking.
We'll continue to work to improve living conditions for all Indigenous
peoples.'

Meanwhile
Ontario heath minister Eric Hoskins said: 'We will be providing
additional health-care experts as needed and we have contacted the
ministry of children and youth services about providing emergency
life-promotion supports.'

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